Microsoft to hire another 50 new employees in
mixed reality, partners with BCIT on mixed-reality curriculum and
announces computer science pilot program for high schools.
VANCOUVER, Nov. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - At the annual Business
Council of British Columbia's
Business Summit, Microsoft President Brad
Smith on Wednesday announced Microsoft Vancouver will create
an additional 50 new jobs in the mixed-reality market in support of
British Columbia's growing tech
ecosystem.
Furthering the company's commitment to creating economic
opportunity in the region, Smith also announced two new education
partnerships to empower the next generation of British Columbians:
a plan to pilot TEALS, a Microsoft Philanthropies program that
helps high schools build and grow sustainable computer science
programs, and a partnership with the British Columbia Institute of
Technology (BCIT) to design curriculum for mixed reality.
"Vancouver is becoming a
world-class hub for mixed reality and digital innovation," Smith
said. "By continuing to partner with British Columbia's business and education
community, we're excited to play a part in helping British
Columbians enter the growing technology workforce. Students in
Vancouver will become leaders in
this next wave of innovation that reinvents how we work, learn and
play."
The announcement comes as British
Columbia continues to expand its digital economy, recently
opening Canada's first VR/AR/MR
hub, The Cube, a 6,000-square-feet co-working space in the heart of
Railtown, and being named as one of nine finalists in the federal
government's Supercluster Initiative, where the government will
make investments up to $950 million
over five years to support business-led innovation superclusters
that generate economic impact for Canada. Microsoft is a founding member of
British Columbia-led Canadian
Digital Supercluster consortium.
The TEALS pilot is the first time the program will expand
outside the United States. Around
the world, students want to learn computer science, but most
schools are unable to offer courses because of a lack of teachers
with computer science training. TEALS helps solve this gap by
pairing trained computer science professionals from across the
technology industry with classroom teachers to team-teach computer
science during the school year. TEALS, which uses computer science
curricula adapted from U.C. Berkeley
and the University of Washington, helps
teachers get the training and support they need to be able to teach
computer science on their own, helping their students build skills
for in-demand careers across sectors and industries. Founded in
2009, this year the program has volunteers from 500 companies
helping teach 12,000 students in 348 U.S. schools, with 86 in
Washington state. TEALS is
currently in the process of determining which school in the
province it will partner with to bring the program to British Columbia in the 2018–2019 school
year.
Microsoft is also partnering with the BCIT, the region's leading
polytechnic, to develop a first-of-its-kind mixed-reality
curriculum and degree. By providing guidance for the program,
Microsoft will help train students to meet the skill sets needed
for careers in the burgeoning field of digital media and
entertainment. By developing local talent, BCIT is preparing
students for immediate opportunities in the technology industry and
strengthening the pipeline for individuals looking to enter the
industry.
"As a significant provider of IT and computing diploma graduates
in the province, we know there is immense opportunity for students
preparing to enter the Lower Mainland's growing tech industry,"
said BCIT President Kathy Kinloch.
"Collaborating with Microsoft will help keep BCIT at the forefront
of technical innovation and sets our students up to enter the job
market with the highly desirable skills that businesses are
demanding."
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) is the leading platform and
productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and
its mission is to empower every person and every organization on
the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Canada Inc.